The first gas could be extracted from the Absheron gas condensate field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea only after 4-5 years, Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Natig Aliyev told journalists yesterday.
He claims that French Total company, the project operator, has recently submitted the program of the field development to State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).
“The goal is to extract 5 billion cub.m. of gas a year from Absheron,” Minister explained.
One can conclude from Minister’s words that by 2018-2019, when first gas from the Shah-Deniz-2 will be delivered to the European markets, we can expect extraction of oil from another big gas field Absheron.
This is a very good news, if this is the truth. The thing is that many facts in this story cannot be linked.
In this case several days ago during an official visit of French President to Baku French Total company would have announced this news, which would have brought it good dividends. Maybe Total shareholders would not demand that its CEO should sell shares in the Shah-Deniz and Southern Caucasian gas pipeline projects.
If Total is really going to develop Absheron field at such a fast pace, then which pipeline it is going to use to export 5 billion cub.m. of gas in 2018-2019? By that time the company will no longer be a shareholder of TANAP. The company should solve all the purchase-sale issues through SOCAR’s coastal terminal in Azerbaijan.
As far as carrying capacity of the Southern Caucasian gas pipeline and TANAP is concerned, in May 2014 SOCAR Senior Vice President Khoshbakht Yusifzada said in his interview to Republic newspaper that the first stage of expansion of these pipelines will take place in 2023 and the second one in 2026.
On May 13, 2014 SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev told journalists that “the program of the field development will be submitted for the consideration of the Board of the Absheron consortium by the end of the year. His means that Total will submit the program to the partners, which include another French company Gaz De France Suez. Only after that the partners could submit the project to the Azeri side for approval.
Till 2017 Azerbaijan will have no free floating drilling rigs (they all are involved in the Shah-Deniz-2 project). How will Total be able to carry out drilling works?
* The potential resources of the field total 350 billion cub.m. of gas and 45 million tons of condensate.
